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The discourse and practice of sovereignty in the People's Republic of China : principles and pragmatism in the management of Hong Kong and Taiwan affairs

Tok, Sow Keat
(2011)
The discourse and practice of sovereignty in the People's Republic of China : principles and pragmatism in the management of Hong Kong and Taiwan affairs.
PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

Abstract

This dissertation has two objectives: one, to dispel the “myth” andassumption that China holds on to an “absolute” view of sovereignty, and hasarguably acted in accordance to this view; and two, to forward an alternative view ofsovereignty as seen through Beijing’s eyes. This dissertation argues that China’ssovereignty is one which flexibly accommodates, at times voluntarily concedes,different mix of de facto rights according to each respective context and issue. Thisis attributed to China’s historical experiences with the concept, as well as itsdiscourses. When “sovereignty” was introduced into Chinese thinking, the result is a“view” of sovereignty which juxtaposed Chinese previous understanding of“supreme authority” with an interpretation of the Western concept of sovereignty.“Sovereignty,” in this view, is essentially a de jure construct as its de factocomponent (or “right of governance”) is purposely and effectively detached from theconcept to serve the political needs of the regime. It thus approximates one groundedon graded rings of sovereignty, where authority emanates from the core, but each“level of sovereignty” is entrusted to exercise different “right of governance.” Aslong as no overt challenge is posed to the idea that a single, de jure sovereignty—more specifically understood as a nominal “supreme authority”—resides in Beijing,this Chinese view of sovereignty is upheld.A “light” constructivist approach which explores the relationship betweennorms, ideational structures, agency and “discursive formations” is applied to thecase studies of Hong Kong (and Macao) and Taiwan to support the arguments in thisdissertation. Chinese discourses on “sovereignty” were examined in details through analysing a large sample size of Chinese academic writings from 1980 till 2008, inaddition to policy documents and announced official positions of the Chineseleadership. This is further augmented by analyses of Beijing’s policy behaviourstowards, in particular, Hong Kong’s autonomy and Taiwan’s international space.